South Africa

Kalafong Hospital services affected by water shortage

The metro’s water woes have affected services at Kalafong provincial tertiary hospital according to the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH).

“Kalafong Hospital has been experiencing an unstable water supply since the middle of last week. The facility’s borehole can only supply the low-lying areas. Tshwane has been providing the hospital with water tankers on a daily basis, however, these together with the borehole are still insufficient to enable optimal patient care at the hospital,” the GDoH statement read.

The department said due to the water shortage, outpatient appointments are being rescheduled and elective procedures are limited until further notice.

Emergency and maternity cases will be diverted to nearby facilities and the public is advised to seek non-emergency care at alternative healthcare facilities.

Kalafong is a 1 118-bed teaching hospital built in 1973, which services a large population of Pretoria and beyond.

The GDoH apologised for the inconvenience caused.

Earlier this year, partners from Bonitas Medical Aid, Gift of the Givers and the University of Pretoria completed installing a new borehole to assist the facility in times like these.

The borehole supplies water to the hospital reservoir and supplements the municipal water supply by 150 000 litres a day. This is over half of the hospital’s daily consumption of between 200 000 and 250 000 litres.

However, the GDoH said this valuable resource is depleting.

In recent weeks numerous reservoirs in the metro’s water system have been under strain with the metro announcing via its social media pages that demand has far outweighed supply and is urging residents to use water sparingly.

Rand Water is currently pumping about 800 million litres to Tshwane per day when it is supposed to be pumping 662 million litres per day. This is about 18% more than the city’s licence agreement with the water utility.

Laudium and Atteridgeville residents were urged to use water sparingly amid water shortages at the Laudium/Atteridgeville HL system.

According to a statement the metro published last week, “disturbingly” high levels of recorded consumption are likely to leave the system dry.

The metro used water from the Heights Reservoir to supplement the shortages to build up the Laudium/Atteridgeville HL system.

Atteridgeville HL Reservoir supplies the following areas:

– Atteridgeville 607-JR

– Atteridgeville 744-JR

– Atteridgeville (all extensions)

– Elandsfontein 352-JR

– Kwaggasrand

– Pretoria Town and Townlands 351-JR

– Saulsville

– Schurveberg 488-JQ

– Skurweplaas 353-JR

– West Park

Residents are reminded of some of the Level 1 water restrictions:

– Do not water or irrigate gardens with a hosepipe or sprinkler system between 06:00 and 18:00.

– Do not use a hosepipe to clean driveways or patios or to wash your vehicles.

– Do not fill or top up swimming pools or water features.

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